The weather is set to dampen the Reading and Leeds festival this weekend with showers expected to hit both sites as well as the threat of thunder and lightning.

The Met Office have issued a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms across the North-east of England stretching from Newcastle to the Leeds and Bradford area.

Met Office metrologist Jonathan Vautrey says “There’s a reasonable chance that some showers will pass over Leeds and Reading over the course of the day. Particularly for Leeds, they are within the yellow warning area that we currently have out just because winds are going to be lightest across that north-eastern area of England today. That will mean those showers are slower moving at times, so rainfall is likely to accumulate in specific locations a bit more.”

When talking about both festival sites he also exclaimed that both Reading and Leeds “do have the potential for seeing some lightning and thunder” during the Saturday.

My Vautrey also warns of the possibility of some flooding across Leeds which could cause logistical issues in and out of the festival.

Yorkshire is expected to get he worst of the conditions in particular, with the yellow thunderstorm warning expected to take effect until 8pm.

Yellow weather warning issued

Thunderstorms across eastern parts of England
Saturday 1100 – 2000

Latest info https://t.co/QwDLMfRBfs

Stay #WeatherAware pic.twitter.com/fxmGDJePa5

— Met Office (@metoffice) August 26, 2023

Attendees at Leeds will be hoping to avoid any thunder and lightning as Sam Fender and Foals are both expected to headline the Saturday night as Reading festival will be headlined by The Killers and The 1975.

For Leeds, the threat of thunder and lightning will only last the Saturday, although the festival is still expected to be exposed to the threat of torrential rain across the entirety of the Sunday with quick heavy downpours expected to merge alongside longer spells of rain.

The Killers and The 1975 headline Leeds festival on the Sunday whilst Billie Eilish and Imagine Dragons headline Reading festival.

Reading is expected to be less at risk for rain on the Sunday, however after some expected sunny spells in the morning, there is some possibility of showers as the day progresses into the evening time.

Temperatures for both Reading and Leeds will fluctuate between 19 degrees during the afternoon and around 11/10 degrees later at night across the entirety of the festival.

Both Reading and Leeds are expected to have sunny conditions as many festival goers exit the respective festivals on the Monday, hopefully ensuring for safe conditions and minimal disruption as thousands depart the festival sites.